Trolley for electric power distribution system



- C. E. BARKIS Feb. '19, 1952 TROLLEY FOR ELECTRIC POWER DISTRIBUTIONSYSTEM 2 SHEETSSHEET 1 Original Filed Aug. 14, 1946 FIG. 3.

FIG. 2. 23 27 INVENTOR CHARLES E BARK/5 4%RNEY Feb. '19, 1952 C. E.BARKIS TROLLEY FOR ELECTRIC POWER DISTRIBUTION SYSTEM Original FiledAug. 14, 1946 2 SHEETS--SHEET 2 FIG. 5. g

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46 45 INVENTOR 7 CHARLES 1 BARK/5 A gNEY Patented Feb. 19, 1952 TROLLEYFOR ELECTRIC POWER DISTRIBUTION SYSTEM Charles E. Barkis, San Francisco,Calif'., assignor, by mesne assignments, to General Electric Company, acorporation of New York Original applicatiomAugust 14, 1946, Serial No.

690,581, now Patent No. 2,568,480, dated September 18, 1951.

Divided. and this application March 15, 1949, Serial No. 81,452

My invention relates to overhead bus bar duct trolley systems especiallythose intended for installation in positions exposed to the action ofthe weather.

An object of the system is'to provide apparatus which is capable ofwithstanding exposure to rain and dust as for instance in shipyards andother outdoor locations.

The main object of the present invention is to provide a trolley type ofbranch take-off which is efie'ctive. This application is a division ofmy copending application filed August 14, 1946, Serial Number 690,581,now Patent No. 2,568,480 dated September 18, 1951.

I Another object is to provide apparatus which can be readily inspected,adjusted and repaired.

For this purpose, I provide a duct which encloses the bus bars and thetracks which support trolley-like collectors carrying the brushes forengaging the bus bars and to which the branch conductors are attached.The collectors are specially constructed so as to facilitateinstallation, inspection and replacement.

The accompanying drawings and the following specification show anddescribe a preferred construction embodying the invention.

Fig. 1 is a cross-sectionalview showing a bus bar duct and a trolleytake-off or collector embodying the invention in position.

Fig. 2 is a similar view: showing the trolley collector in the positionof insertion into or removalt from the duct.

Fig; 3 is a side view and section of the trolley take-oil or collectordevice.

Fig. 4 is a plan view of the trolley take-off or collector device.

Fig. 5 is a plan view of a brush holder.

Fig. 6 is a cross-sectional view of a brush holder on the plane of theline 6-6 of Fig. 5.

The bus bars l5, l5, l5 may be of any suitable construction and each ismounted on an insulating block I6 carried by a cross bar l'l. Theseinsulating blocks and cross bars are arranged at intervals-along thelength of the bus bars and are enclosed in the duct. The duct itselfconsists of side bars l8, ill of Z-shaped section, a top plate l9 andflanged side covers 20, 2B. The upper flange 2| of each Z-bar and theflange 22 of each side cover are secured together and to the cross barsll by bolts 23, 23. The edges of the top plate l9 may be flanged over at24 to cover the ends of the cross bars and the edges of the flangesmentioned. As the duct will naturally be longer than any one of the topplate sections, transverse splice bars to connect the ends of 3 Claims.(01. 191-45) 2 adjacent sections of' the topplates may be provided asshown in my copending application.

The Z-bars' l8, l8 are made sufficiently strong so that their lowerflanges 26, 26 may serve as tracks for the rollers or wheels 21, 21 ofthB'OOl-I- lector or trolley take-off device. The side: covers 26, 2!!need not be as heavy or strong as. the Z-bars but they do extendhorizontally to form the bottom of the duct and are provided: withspaced-apart flanges 28, 28 whichthus provide a slot for the passage ofthe branch conductors 29 and the guard 29. The side covers 2l'l areformed in suitable lengths andv at: the locations where the joints inthe bus barsoccur I provide short cover sections which are removable tofacilitate access to the connection between the bus bars and tofacilitate insertion and removal of the trolleycollectorasshowninmycopending application.

The trolley take-off or, collecting device has angle bar sides 32-, 32.constituting part of its frame and which are connected by transversemembers 33 and 34. Transverse member 33 is detachably secured to thehorizontal'flamgesi'of the opposite'anglebars 32, 32 by bolts 35, 35 andmember 34 is secured by pairs'of: bolts .36, 3B. The conductor guard 29is secured to'the'transverse member 34 and extends throughv the slotbetween the flanges 28, 280i thecover members.

An insulating cross bar 31 is secured to the horizontal flanges of theangle bars'by bolts 38, 38' and supports the brushes 39', 39, 39 whichengage the under surface of the bus bars l5, l5, l5. Insulating barrierssuch as 40, 40 are mounted in slots 4!, 4! in the bar 31 alongside ofand between the brushes and their supports. Conductor bars or strips 42,42 are secured by bolts 43 to the insulating cross bar 31 and on thesebars are mounted the saddles 44, 44 which carry the brush holders 45,45. The brush holders are arranged in pairs, each pair being hinged andsupported by a pivot 46 and biased upwardly by a spring 41 to press thebrushes against the bus bars. To limit the movement of each brush holderwhen the trolley collector is removed from the duct, .1 provide a headedstud 4B which is secured to the base of the saddle 44 and the brushholder is provided with a keyholeshaped opening 49 to facilitateassembly and disassembly. Each brush 39 has a flexible lead 58 and aterminal piece 5| which is secured to the conductor bar 42 on which thebrush is mounted.

On the end of each conductor bar 42 is detachably mounted an attachmentlug 52 of suitable form to which one of the conductors 29 is secured.

In order to hold the conductors in position adjacent the attachment lugsI provide clamping members 54 and 55 held together and secured to thetransverse member 34 by bolts 56, 56'.

I also provide an insulating guard plate 51 which is removably securedto the cross bar 3'! by screws 58.

From the foregoing it will be seen that the strain applied to thetrolley collector when the conductors are pulled is taken up by theclamp on the transverse member 34 and not by the conductor bars 42. Thebrushes being mounted between the trolley rollers and being springpressed are maintained in perfect contact with the bus bars.

The side bars 32, 32 with the rollers 21, and the transverse members 33and 34 constitute the frame unit of the collector. The insulating crossbar 31 with the attached conductor strips 42, 42, 42 and the brushholders and brushes constitute the brush assembly unit which isdetachably carried by the collector frame.

Access may be had to a trolley collector by removing a short coversection, whereupon, if desired, the guard plate 51 may be removed.

By this construction, it is possible when the short side covers areremoved to remove the entire brush assembly as a unit from the collectorframe. For this purpose, the conductor lugs 52, 52 are detached from theconductor bars 42 and the bolts 38, 38 removed so as to disconnect thecross bar 31 and the attached brushes from the side bars 32, 32.

If it is desired to inspect or repair the brushes or other parts of thecollector, it is a simple matter to remove the entire collector. Forthis purpose, the bolts 35, 36 and 38 along one side of the collectorwhich secure the transverse bars 33, 34 and 31 of the collector to theadjacent angle bar 32 are removed and the remainder of the collectortilted as shown in Fig. 2 whereupon it may be removed. If necessary, theangle bar at the left in Fig. 2 when thus detached may be movedlongitudinally along the track 26 to provide more clearance.

From the foregoingyit will be seen that according to this invention, atrolley can be removed from the duct and the bus bars without disturbingthe bus bars or trolley tracks by simply removing a short cover section20 of the duct and disconnecting the cross bars 33 and 34 from the anglebar 32 at one side as shown in Fig. 2.

The construction will thus be seen to be simple,

rugged and protected to a maximum degree from interference or damage andyet capable of convenient inspection and repair.

I claim:

1. A trolley collector for a power distribution system comprising aninsulating transverse supporting means, angle pieces having outwardlyextending feet detachably secured along the opposite side edges thereof,supporting rollers carried by the opposite ends of the upright flangesof said angle pieces, conductor bars carried by said supporting meansbetween said angle pieces, contact brushes resiliently mounted on saidconductor bars and distribution conductors connected to the ends of theconductor bars.

2. A trolley collector for a power distribution system comprising sidebars having outwardly extending flanges, transverse connectorsdetachably connecting the ends of said side bars, insulating supportingmeans supported by the flanges of said side bars between said endconnectors, supporting rollers carried by the opposite ends of the sidebars, conductor bars carried by said supporting means between said sidebars, contact brushes resiliently mounted on said conductor bars anddistribution conductors connected to the ends of the conductor bars.

3. A trolley collector comprising a frame having oppositely disposedparallel side bars, each bar having a vertical and a horizontal flange,the horizontal flanges extending outwardly in opposite directions, crossbars detachably bolted to the opposite horizontal flanges, supportingrollers secured to the opposite sides of the vertical flanges of theside bars, conductor bars secured to one of said cross bars between saidside bars, contact members supported by said conductor bars, andflexible distribution conductors connecting the ends of said contactmembers and said conductor bars.

CHARLES E. BARKIS.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES FATENTS Date

